Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1514 New Players Change the Market Map

Katzenberg did not let his old friend wait too long. He had communicated with Spielberg in the past few years and wanted to imitate the way Chaplin founded United Artists and establish a film company for artists to make films.

However, the most taboo thing in Hollywood when making movies is to use your own money. Although the two of them are already wealthy, if they invest in movies carelessly, they may lose a lot of their wealth.

Because of problems with attracting investment and risk management, their wish has never been realized.

In the first half of the year, with David Geffen having tried his hand at the film market and achieved mediocre results, the three of them all planned to combine their best strengths to form a team.

Katzenberg's cartoons and small and medium-sized live-action films, Spielberg's special effects films, and David Geffen's competitiveness in the record market.

This proposal, which was previously interrupted due to the accidental death of a Disney executive, was restarted at a very fast speed after Katzenberg resigned.

Within three days, they received a $5 million investment from a super-rich man, more than $3 million from another super-rich man, and an advance payment of $1 million for the rights to distribute the new company's films in the Asian market (excluding Japan).

With Spielberg, Katzenberg, and David Geffen each contributing $3300 million, the total amounted to $10 billion, and the newly-launched "Dreamworks SKG" was born.

Since there was no past loss-making projects to drag down the company, the $10 billion was all in cash. For a time, the filming funds of the newly established DreamWorks were comparable to those of the major studios with a history of or years in the industry.

“Where did they get the money?”

Ronald muttered. Although it has only been three days since Katzenberg resigned, money is no longer a problem for this new company. Various news in the industry indicate that after decades of waiting, another studio led by artists rather than businessmen has appeared in Hollywood.

"Do you know Microsoft?" Ed Bastian smiled bitterly. He had not expected that these three people could actually find a big sponsor to invest without caring about the return.

"Of course..." Ronald glanced at Ed. Could it be that Bill invested in it?

"Do you know Paul Allen, an early founder and shareholder of Microsoft?"

"do not know……"

Ronald looked at this man's background information. He was Bill's senior brother and the second-in-command of Microsoft. It was only in 1982 that he was diagnosed with a rare disease, but fortunately, he had an even rarer form of Hodgkin's disease, which can be cured with radiation.

He then retired from business and became a recluse, but still donated a lot of money to support art, music, sports, and many charities.

When he left Microsoft, he owned 28% of the shares. In the following ten years, Microsoft's rapid growth made his wealth increase at a very fast rate. By last year, Forbes had calculated that his wealth was more than $90 billion.

He is also an avid collector of Jimi Hendrix's guitars and is said to be a good player with a style very close to Jimi Hendrix himself.

In 1988, he bought the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers and the Rose Garden for $7000 million.

Judging from his investment history, it can be said that he relies largely on his own interests and hobbies, without any fixed direction.

For such a super-rich man who has no desires, does not run his own business, and invests purely based on personal preferences, it is understandable that he supports three artists who have achieved huge success in Hollywood and the record industry in the past decade to establish a production studio and pursue more and better artistic films.

"But that's only 5 million. Who is the other one?"

"She is the granddaughter of a super-rich man from Goryeo..."

"Forehead……"

Ronald was stunned when he heard this. This was another investor who didn't play by the rules. Who could have thought of this?

The third-generation rich man who contributed the remaining $4 million is the granddaughter of Lee Byung-chul, the founder of Samsung in Korea. This woman, Miky Lee, is the eldest daughter of Lee Byung-chul's eldest son, Lee Maeng-hee.

After receiving a bachelor's degree in home economics from Seoul National University, Miky Lee went to Harvard University in 1986 to pursue a doctorate in East Asian studies and finally completed her master's degree. She then went to a famous Chinese university near Jiangwan to continue studying Chinese literature and history.

She just graduated this year and returned to Cheil Jedang, a company that has been in existence since the Japanese occupation and is affiliated with Samsung Group, as vice president. She began to push the company, whose English name is CJ Group, into the entertainment industry.

So in order to fulfill his granddaughter's desire to hone her abilities and build a career, Miky Lee obtained authorization and allowed CJ Group to invest US$3 million in the newly established DreamWorks, plus an additional US$1 million to monopolize DreamWorks' distribution rights in East Asia for the next five years.

"No wonder, the eldest granddaughter of the largest business group in Goryeo..." Ronald was amazed. Samsung really has the characteristics of Goryeo and spares no effort to cultivate future generations.

When I think back to when I was trying to start my own business and make money, all my Aunt Karen and good friend Douglas Jr. ended up getting me was an ordinary second-hand camera.

People can't be compared...

This is very interesting. I am a very successful director and producer in Hollywood, so why haven't such good things come to me?
Ronald looked at the photo of the three founders of DreamWorks and understood a little more. Except for David Geffen, Spielberg and Katzenberg were not the kind of businessmen who were very good at scheming.

But perhaps it is this relatively pure temperament of artists and producers in Hollywood that allows them to find investors like Paul Allen and Miky Lee.

If other people had gone to Paul Allen, the Hollywood approach of exaggerating every little bit would have scared away a hermit investor with an artistic temperament like Allen.

"Dreamworks SKG. This SKG is made up of the initials of Spielberg, Katzenberg, and Geffen."

From the abbreviation in the company's name, Ronald also felt the status and power ranking of the three founders in the company.

Spielberg's big projects have the strongest ability to attract money, and he also has the strongest appeal in Hollywood. Katzenberg, who originally climbed to the top ten of the power list with the platform of Disney, is now the manager of a new company. His vision and ability are still there, and it is estimated that he will not decline much. Geffen is completely an amateur. Although the linkage between movies and records may make money, records are always in a subordinate position, and he is not commercially irreplaceable.

Sure enough, Ronald's estimate was correct. At the founding press conference held a few days later, the seats of the three people and the order of their speeches confirmed his guess.

Katzenberg still sits in the middle. Spielberg and Geffen both have their own businesses and will not spend too much time on management. As the weakest of the three, Katzenberg naturally has to bear more management responsibilities.

"Take Spielberg, the genius behind the most profitable movie in history, Jurassic Park. Take Katzenberg, the genius behind this year's highest-grossing animated film. Take David Geffen, the billionaire who has signed many popular bands in the record industry. Put them together, what will happen?"

During the live broadcast of the press conference on TV, the director hurriedly put together the representative works of the three founders, and then cut to the scene.

In a very simple room, the three founders were all wearing shirts, except Katzenberg, who didn't wear a tie, showcasing the artist style that is now popular in California.

"When I see the three of us, I think, this is a dream team. At least it's my dream team..."

As the "poorest" one, Katzenberg had to say more, and it was mainly him who answered various questions raised by reporters about the new company.

“This will undoubtedly bring about a major reshuffle in the industry, whether in terms of market share or profitability. The new company founded by these three outstanding talents will reshape the horizon of Hollywood.”

The "experts" at the scene began to speak well of DreamWorks. In short, the three of them together, a powerful alliance, with the support of Microsoft and cable TV tycoon John Malone, will definitely be successful in the film and television industry. Those big studios that have already become incompetent will definitely have a hard time in the next competition. Their profitability will definitely decline...

There is also an expert, who is an analyst on Wall Street specializing in stocks of companies in the film and television industry. He also mentioned that this new company has a characteristic that it is a national film and television group as soon as it is established.

DreamWorks will focus on five areas: movies, television, animation, records, and the latest interactive media (those multimedia CDs produced by Ronald's company hired by Bill Gates).

In contrast, some small and medium-sized media groups that are subject to geographical restrictions will be greatly affected in terms of stock prices and will no longer be able to maintain their past high price-to-earnings ratios.

"You can flatter me if you want to, but why do you come and step on me halfway?"

Ronald angrily wrote down the name of this "expert". DDH Media could no longer provide any interview opportunities to such a person.

"David Geffen's Geffen Records and Spielberg's Amblin Films will collaborate and use the new company's business channels in this new company, which will begin operations next year."

Ed Bastian smiled and wrote down the name of this brainless expert. He continued to listen to the press conference. Geffen and Spielberg were both business owners. It seemed that their old companies would not be merged into the new DreamWorks, but would be operated in a joint model.

Because Spielberg has a long-term cooperation agreement with Universal Pictures, he will continue to direct films for Universal and other studios.

"Um……"

Ronald and Ed Bastian looked at each other. This was not a good sign. The three people had invested completely different amounts in DreamWorks. The most valuable thing in this new company was not the $3 million each of them invested, nor the nearly $3300 million invested by the other two wealthy men, but the talents of these three industry leaders.

If these talents cannot be brought into DreamWorks, then this company is not worth taking seriously. It is conceivable that there will be many situations where people will fight against themselves.

Spielberg is going to make another Jurassic Park for Universal. What will happen to DreamWorks' movie during the same period? What will happen if DreamWorks' movie has a soundtrack and there is a conflict with David Geffen's record company?
If these contradictions are not resolved, DreamWorks will only be able to obtain some second-rate resources in the end, and at least in the first few years, it will not pose any major impact on the market structure.

There is only one situation worth worrying about, that is, if Katzenberg, a person with strong management ability, really runs DreamWorks as a media group, integrates the capabilities of the five departments at the group level, and allows them to help each other instead of undermining each other.

Considering the mob-like executives at the major studios today, a united DreamWorks would be a big threat.

"Who has the final say? Katzenberg?"

Ronald keenly discovered the crux of the problem. Katzenberg was sitting in the middle of the three people, and it was obvious that he would appear as the main manager in the future.

But Spielberg has no interest in management, David Geffen has the weakest resources to contribute, and he himself is a guy who likes to take advantage. If Katzenberg wants to be able to integrate resources, he must be given appropriate power.

"The three founders share the equity equally and bear the same responsibilities for business management..."

"You must be kidding me?" Ronald blurted out. The three of us shared the responsibility equally, so no one would be held responsible in the end.

"These three people are nothing to worry about, but they will definitely cause big problems in the future." This is Ronald's judgment.

"But $10 billion is still $10 billion, and once it is established it has the ability to be distributed worldwide."

"Hmm..." Ronald thought. That's right. If the billion dollars were left to the prodigal, it would take several years to lose. Moreover, these three were all very capable people. In addition, the Korean CJ Group was in charge of the distribution in Asia, which meant that DreamWorks had a strong overseas financing capability from the beginning.

Coupled with the bank bridge loans brought by domestic distribution, it would be no problem to shoot big-budget movies with big stars within just a few years.

"I also want to thank Mr. Michael Eisner. Without him, I would not have the opportunity to sit here and accomplish these things."

Katzenberg did not forget to criticize his old boss at the press conference. Katzenberg must have had a non-competition agreement, and Eisner did not hinder him. After Katzenberg left, he also removed the legal obstacles out of courtesy.

"We still have to find a way to reverse the inevitable impact on DDH's stock price in the short term." Ed Bastian did some calculations. The market often does not see as long-term as his boss. In the short term, the profits of several major studios will be diluted by the entry of new competitors. Regional media groups like DDH will also be lowered by Wall Street. We need a good news to hedge."

"What do you think?" Ronald asked.

"I heard that the eldest princess of Samsung has ambitions that are not limited to worshipping Spielberg..."

"Okay, you can contact her, but..." Ronald hesitated for a while, "I need to strengthen the box office market in Hong Kong and the mainland instead of looking for an agent..."

"In that case, our agreement with her wouldn't be worth much..."

"It doesn't matter. It's just a cooperation. That's all Wall Street wants." Ronald still had doubts about such a partner, so he signed a distribution agreement with CJ Group in Asia other than Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and the mainland...